Immunotherapy refers to modulating a person's immune responses to impart a desirable therapeutic effect. Immunotherapeutics refer to those compositions which, when administered to an individual, modulate the individual's immune system sufficient to ultimately decrease symptoms which are associated with undesirable immune responses or to ultimately alleviate symptoms by increasing desirable immune responses. In some cases, immunotherapy is part of a vaccination protocol in which the individual is administered a vaccine that exposes the individual to an immunogen against which the individual generates an immune response in such cases, the immunotherapeutic increases the immune response and/or selectively enhances a portion of the immune response (such as the cellular arm or the humoral arm) which is desirable to treat or prevent the particular condition, infection or disease.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,135,170, which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses nucleic acid and amino acid sequences of human IL-28A and human IL-28B and the administration of IL-28A or IL-28B protein to individuals infected with a virus.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,491,391, which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses antibodies that bind to IL-23p19. Compositions comprising the antibodies and uses comprising administration of the antibodies in combination with other agents are described including the anti-IL-23p19 antibody in combination with any interleukin protein includes IL-28.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 20050037018, which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses HCV vaccines in combination with antiviral agents to treat individuals who are infected with HCV. IL-28 protein is included in the list of antiviral compounds used to treat HCV-infected individuals in combination with the HCV vaccines disclosed.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 20060165668, which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses cancer cells transfected with nucleic acid molecules encoding two or more therapeutic proteins, and treating individuals who have cancer by administering such cancer cells to them. Cytokines are included among the therapeutic proteins listed and IL-28 is included in the list of cytokines.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 20060263368, which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses anti-cancer compounds which includes a cancer cell targeting moiety and a anti-cell proliferation moiety and the use of such compounds to treat cancer and prevent or reverse chemoresistance of cancer cells. Hormones are included among the cancer cell targeting moiety listed and IL-28 is included in the list of hormones.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 20070066552, which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses formulations for delivering nucleic acid molecules that encode therapeutic proteins. IL-28 is included among the list of proteins described as therapeutic proteins.
Vaccine protocols can be improved by the delivery of agents that modulate a person's immune responses to induce an improved immune response. In some vaccination protocols in which the individual is administered a vaccine that exposes the individual to an immunogen against which the individual generates an immune response, an agent is provided that increases the immune response and/or selectively enhances a portion of the immune response (such as the cellular arm or the humoral arm) which is desirable to treat or prevent the particular condition, infection or disease.
Vaccines are useful to immunize individuals against target antigens such as allergens, pathogen antigens or antigens associated with cells involved in human diseases. Antigens associated with cells involved in human diseases include cancer-associated tumor antigens and antigens associated with cells involved in autoimmune diseases.
In designing such vaccines, it has been recognized that vaccines that produce the target antigen in cells of the vaccinated individual are effective in inducing the cellular arm of the immune system. Specifically, live attenuated vaccines, recombinant vaccines which use avirulent vectors and DNA vaccines each lead to the production of antigens in the cell of the vaccinated individual which results in induction of the cellular arm of the immune system. On the other hand, killed or inactivated vaccines, and sub-unit vaccines which comprise only proteins do not induce good cellular immune responses although they do induce an effective humoral response.
A cellular immune response is often necessary to provide protection against pathogen infection and to provide effective immune-mediated therapy for treatment of pathogen infection, cancer or autoimmune diseases. Accordingly, vaccines that produce the target antigen in cells of the vaccinated individual such as live attenuated vaccines, recombinant vaccines that use avirulent vectors and DNA vaccines are often preferred.
While such vaccines are often effective to immunize individuals prophylactically or therapeutically against pathogen infection or human diseases, there is a need for improved vaccines. There is a need for compositions and methods that produce an enhanced immune response.
Likewise, while some immunotherapeutics are useful to modulate immune response in a patient there remains a need for improved immunotherapeutic compositions and methods.